Transformative Stages of Initiation in Modern Society

A Mythic Response to Our Times

In this profoundly deep and freewheeling conversation we cover so much soulful ground. We begin with one of our favorite topics that Michael Meade has been teaching on for years: Your innate genius. He tells of the origins of his teaching about genius with severely at-risk youth, and about how in honoring our unique genius we are all equal, across race, class, and other categories. We also explore the ancient notion that “the genius hides behind the wound,” made popular by Carl Jung; and the fact that for so many during these intense times, core wounds are activated, which means genius is nearby. 

We explore the perspective of these times being one of initiation that can awaken us to ourselves, our gifts and wounds. Michael speaks about the function of community in initiation, what he’s learned over 35 years of studying and creating rites of passage. Micheal explains that while we are in a big time of “not knowing,” the soul knows exactly what this is in terms of initiation. Michael says we’re being called to new levels of humanity; to seeing one another as our home; and to the possibility of protests being rituals. Michael also speaks about the rituals that happen at his men’s retreats where the central part is opening the wounds of the culture with honest talk between men from widely diverse backgrounds; and the healing that comes from making a ritual of what happens. 

Michael also talks about the second half of the African proverb, “It takes a village to raise a child,” which states, “If the young people aren’t welcomed into the village, they will burn it down just to feel the warmth,” and how we are seeing this happen now around the US and beyond. 

We explore the topic of soul and Michael’s emphasis on the fact that if we want the world to change, it has to start in the human soul. We also weave a beautiful thread speaking to elders, deceased writers, people we revere - and the ways their souls are still reverberating in the world today. 

Michael also discusses the importance of transformation in these times - that we must schedule that which is not working before building the new or returning to “normal.” He also elucidates beautifully the returning interest in rites of passage today. We also explore reimagining education, healthcare, politics; the way everyone’s genius is called forth by the times; and we end exploring the meaning of “apocalypsis” which is not the end of times, but collapse and renewal as we see in the model of the natural world. 

What a wild and wise ride we had!! We hope you enjoy listening as much as we did. 

Michael has a new live online series coming up which we highly recommend, and he’s offering our listeners a discount. 

Read more below:

Thursday, July 2 6:00 pm – 7:30 pm Pacific Time - Rites of Passage: Collective and Individual

Friday, July 106:00 pm – 7:30 pm Pacific Time   - Die Before You Die

Friday, July 17 6:00 pm – 7:30 pm Pacific Time  - The Pathless Path

Each 90-minute event includes story, poetry and a Q&A session. Events can be purchased separately for $20 or at the discounted price of $49 for the full series.

EMBODIMENT MATTERS PODCAST LISTENERS SAVE 20% ON FULL SERIES:

Use discount code EMBOD20 at checkout

You can register here: https://www.mosaicvoices.org/shop/#!/Paths-of-Initiation-Live-Online-Series/p/208520033

Series registration includes HD audio and video recordings of all events

Michael Meade, D.H.L., is a renowned storyteller, author, and scholar of mythology, anthropology, and psychology. He combines hypnotic storytelling, street-savvy perceptiveness, and spellbinding interpretations of ancient myths with a deep knowledge of cross-cultural rituals. He has an unusual ability to distill and synthesize these disciplines, tapping into ancestral sources of wisdom and connecting them to the stories we are living today.

He is the author of Awakening the Soul, The Genius Myth, Fate and Destiny: The Two Agreements of The Soul, Why the World Doesn't End, The Water of Life: Initiation and the Tempering of the Soul; editor, with James Hillman and Robert Bly, of Rag and Bone Shop of the Heart; and editor of Crossroads: A Quest for Contemporary Rites of Passage. Meade is the founder of Mosaic Multicultural Foundation, a nonprofit network of artist, activists, and community builders that encourages greater understanding between diverse peoples.